Tribe Report

'Martin de Vore'

Gathering of the Tribes

This Wednesday, Dec. 14, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., at 901 Bagby, in the Houston City Hall Building foyer, the tribes will be gathering for the Houston Municipal Art Commission Opening Ceremony. Yes, this is the same opening that was originally supposed to take place on Sept. 22 but was postponed due to those damned hurricanes. But, it's now about three months later and Houston can get back to celebrating one of its best assets -- our thriving art community.

Did I say "tribes" will be gathering? Tribes with an "s" as in multiple tribes? Absolutely. Just looking over the invitation that was sent out by Wayne Gilbert, I see members of the 101 Tribe, Redbud Tribe, M2 Tribe, Studio Gallery Tribe, Spacetaker Tribe, Elder Street Tribe, Gallery 19 Tribe, Winter Street Tribe, Artists at Large Tribe, Diversionists Tribe, Sippora Tribe and quite a few other artists that belong to tribes that I haven't gotten to know yet. It should be something. Personally, I am looking forward to this a great deal and if we get hit by bad weather at 3 p.m., like some of the TV weather people are saying, I will personally dispatch Mitch the Rain God to the top of City Hall to wield his iron rod to call the lightning and thunder down on himself for the good of all. (Carolyn, did you make our Caribbean reservations yet?) Just kidding, Mitch, but I will be pissed if bad weather keeps people away for one of the most interesting exhibitions of the year. I'll be there -- rain or shine -- and I hope that all of you will too!

This just in....

Duke Jones will be performing on Friday, Dec.16, at the Vintage Bar located at 4356 Westheimer at Midlane. For more information, call (713) 355-3093 or visit Duke's Web site at www.bluedukemusic.com.

Tribes and Tribulations

Now...for the past week's visits.... Sippora Gallery's "Red" show, Maranda Pleasant's one-person show at Deco and M2 Gallery's 1st Group Show. Whew, this might be a long report....

Let's start with Thursday.

What's black and white and red all over? Why Sippora Gallery of course! Home of the "Black & White" show in September and the "Red" show on Thursday night, Amy Meyers' events never have failed to entertain. The art is superb; the food and drink are plentiful, the music is good and there's always a fun twist of some sort. In September, for the "Black and White" show, the twist was Maia's exquisite body-painted model strolling around. Thursday night, it was an invasion by the folks from the North Pole. There were short Santas, tall Santas, jolly Santas, mischievious Santas and elves to delight all.

Musical entertainment was provided by Aaron Loesch. Aaron put on an incredible show. He has put on a great show every time that I have seen him play. I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think someone told me that Aaron would be performing at the West Alabama Ice House on the 15th. If that's the case -- go see him. You'll have a great time.

In a related matter, one of Aaron's entourage, Celeste Dvorak, who I had met before, was present for his set. When Aaron played at Amy's "Black and White" show back in September, Celeste was there as well. I found myself so thoroughly mesmerized that I sat for two hours talking with Celeste about topics ranging from plastic surgery (she works for a plastic surgeon) to our last names to art to music. I was captivated to the point that I missed going to a Winter Street open house with Gordy, Michael-Ann, Mitch and Carolyn. And I didn't regret it. Anyway, I told Celeste that I would put her in the Tribe Report, so, "Voila!" Here you are, Celeste!

Back to the show....

The crowds were packed all the time that I was there and -- to me -- it seemed as though there were more buyers in this crowd. I do hope the sales were good. The art certainly was.

Speaking of the art, my personal favorites were: "America Cries" by Missy Gentile, "A Bit of Crimson" by Salli Babbitt, "Redemption" by Holly Denslow, "Discoveries" by Alexis Andrei, "Crimson Spell" by Ray Phillips, "Masque" by Ray Phillips, "The Red Door" by Pam Knox, "Geared" by Christopher Piccola, "System Crash" by Christopher Piccola, and "Caboose" by Maia.

Those of you who couldn't make it to Sippora on Thursday should head over there as soon as you can to see the "Red" show before it's over. Of course, it would probably help if I told you where to go. Sippora is located at 234 West Gray. If you want to know more about the "Red" show, call Amy at (713) 520-1085.

One more thing.... As I mentioned, the crowds were pretty thick at the "Red" show. It was actually crowded enough to the point where members of our various tribes could almost walk in and/or leave unnoticed. Still, I have to mention that while I was there, I had nice chats with our fellow tribe members Mitch Cohen, Alexis Andrei, Dwight Bullock, Amy Meyers, Maranda Pleasant (who had her own show a few blocks down Gray at the same time) and John Mercado.

Speaking of Maranda and John, that leads me to...Maranda Pleasant's show at Deco.

When I left Sippora, my next stop was to go see Maranda's show. John decided that he'd like to see it as well, so we formed a two-vehicle convoy and headed toward Midtown. After some interesting navigational errors, we finally found both Deco and -- more impressively -- parking spaces.

When we got to the door, we were told that we'd have to pay to get in. Probably it was because we both looked like dangerous leftist Bohemian members of the proletariat who had come to Deco to corrupt all of the superbly dressed decadent capitalist hedonists in order to advance the will of the state. Whew, I've always wanted to say something like that! Anyway, we got Maranda's attention and she told the door people that we were her "art assistants" and we were thus granted access. So far, so good. John and I were in for free. But then, there was a surprise -- Maranda did in fact put us to work -- helping her price paintings and move paintings around. So, for the rest of the evening, John and I were Maranda's bitches. (Just teasing MJ, you know we enjoyed it!) After about an hour, we had a surprise visitor -- Coco Easterwood. Those of you who regularly go the Bayou City Art Festival (spring and fall) are probably familiar with Coco's work. I have always been a big fan of her art and it was a real treat visiting with her again.

Maranda did well at the show and sold several of those huge abstracts of hers that are the size of a Buick. John and Maranda got to discuss art and I got to frighten the upper crust. Yes, a good time was had by all. It was a fun show to go to, anchored with great art by a talented artist.

One final point here: I mentioned in a previous Tribe Report that Maranda was working on forming her own tribe. After listening to some of her new plans, perhaps I should have said she is working to build an empire. That's a "Pleasant" thought.

Well, that takes care of Thursday. Next up: the M2 1st Group Show on Saturday.

Saturday, Dec. 10, began routinely enough -- five trips to Starbucks, watching football and enjoying a few naps. Then, it was time to head into Houston to M2 Gallery at 325 West 19th Street.

In the interest of ethical journalism -- even this informal brand -- I should say at the outset that I have a vested interest in the M2 show since three of my paintings are in it. Be that as it may, it is an incredible show! It's up through Dec. 31 so go see it and buy, buy, buy!

OK, I've purged the mercantilism running through my system and calmed down now. Sit back and let me tell you the tale of an art opening....

Once upon a time, there was a great opening show at a local art gallery. The art placement was superb, the decor was dazzling, the food and beverage flowed freely, music filled the air, and many, many happy people strolled through the halls, taking in a variety of visual wonders....

Yes, it was a rather magical evening. M2 was decked out in all of its holiday finery and some absolutely incredible art was on display for viewing and purchasing. Max and Michael, ably assisted by Mark, exceeded every show of theirs that I have yet attended. M2 was packed from even before its official start time through about 30 minutes after the festivities were set to conclude. It stayed packed throughout the entire evening.

In addition to the huge crowds of art lovers, artists, gallery owners and iconoclasts, there were members of the media present from television stations, newspapers and magazines. It seemed as if at some point, everyone was posing for a shot for the media. Crowds would gather around an artists as they explained their work while others were availing themselves of fine culinary treats, topped off by a variety of beverages (including that superb punch created by Michael) ably served up by Capt. Gordy Tillman. Hmmmmm..... With all of those parrots Gordy has, combined with his maritime appearance and fondness for dispensing grog, it's really not too hard to imagine Capt. Tillman as the successor to Capt. Morgan one day! Oh well, I stray. Back to the show.

As I mentioned, the show was visually striking, especially at night. Some people even went outside and walked across the street just to look at it from afar. And the music.... Well, the music was perfect. The musicians of **Symphony deserve the highest accolades -- both for their superior performance and for lasting through the evening in such a crowded venue.

As for the art.... Wow! There was a lot of great art on display and I tell you truly that I was honored to be hanging -- literally and figuratively -- with the artists in the show. My own personal favorites were: "Wild Flowers" by Francesca Maquis, "Sandy's Hideaway" by Margaret Miller, "Life Beckons" by Karen Helton, "Beneath the Surface" by Karen Helton, "Woman" by Van McFarland, "Lady Vivienne (Captured)" by Sergio Santos, "The Flamenco Dancer" by Barbara Kriegler, "Ascension" by Mary Ann Lucas, "Urban Reflections I & II" by Vivian Karayiannis, "My Princess (Sarah)" by Michael-Ann Belin, and "Hancock County" by Scott DeJesse. There was also a really nice painting of a geisha that I liked a lot but didn't write down the info to. However, I think that one might be the work of the one and only Max Boyd Harrison himself. Check it out.

Besides the traditional type of art hanging on the walls, there was also art in the air, or airwaves -- specifically, the multimedia installation "Dolls." "Dolls" was definitely a very visual experience. Presented by La Chicana Laundry Pictures, "Dolls" featured visual artist Carmela Canestraro's criminally crafted paper dolls, Richard Solis's playful set design, the delightfully deranged film stylings of Stephanie Saint Sanchez and Miguel Cabillo, and the exquisite scribblings of Jeanie Low. "Dolls" will run at M2 from Dec. 7 through Dec. 23. For more information, call (281) 701-3452 or visit the Web site www.lachicanalaundrypictures.com.

What an evening! All I can say is that, in my opinion, the M2 1st Group Show was a huge success. I can't wait until the next one!

And, in spite of all the other events going on at the same time, there were quite a few tribe members in attendance that I got to visit with at some point in the evening. I apologize in advance for anyone that I spent time with but didn't write down to jog my memory. Here's the incomplete list of our fellow tribe members who were on hand: Marie Weichman and Dan Mitchell Allison; Tim and Charity Snider; Mitch and Carolyn Cohen; Dwight Bullock; Mark DeLeon; Alexis Andrei; Solomon Kane and his wife whose name I keep forgetting (Sorry about that Jeff!), Michael-Ann Belin (who sold both of her paintings on display!) and Gordy Tillman; Michelle Macy, her mom and Elaine; Maranda and Ocean Pleasant and so many others that I enjoyed talking with. I need one of those memory boosters I guess -- or at least a pocket-sized notebook.

Once again, M2 1st Group Show runs through Dec. 31 and Dolls runs through Dec. 23. Go see them!

Still on View....

Redbud Gallery is currently presenting "Meanwhile Back at the Ranch" by Hudson Marquez through Dec. 31. Located at 303 E 11th Street, at the corner of East 11th and Cortlandt Street, adjacent to Texas Collaborative Fine Arts Printmaking, PRD Antiques and the Sharon Kopriva Studio, Redbud Gallery is open from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, or by appointment. For more information, call (713) 862-2532.

Seeking....

Wayne, do you have a Web site that I can go to that has your upcoming events listed? I'd really like to include your shows here.

Coming Up....

Gallery 19 has a few events coming up that you should go see this coming week....

For example, there's still time to vote in Gallery 19's Holiday Art Stocking Competition. For more information, contact Gallery 19 at (713) 426-2414. The stockings will be judged by the public. The last day to vote is Dec. 17.

And don't forget, Gallery 19 will be having a group show on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2005, which is only one week before Christmas Eve. This is a great time to meet the Gallery 19 artists, have some refreshments and enjoy looking at some most excellent art. I've been to two of these group shows and have always had a great time. You will too. Heidi, Kyle and the Gallery 19 artists will be glad to see you. There's good work there -- buy something!

Until then, keep creating art, viewing art, buying art and supporting your fellow artists of all tribes.

Martin L. de Vore is a freelance writer living in Humble, TX. Mr. de Vore is a member of the Artists at Large and Diversionist tribes and enjoys talking to Celeste Dvorak, being Maranda Pleasant's art bitch and having his art shown with so many truly incredible artists.

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